


The excess of cinnamon

by gehlien



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Awkward Flirting, F/M, Implied Anxiety, teen crushes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 17:11:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11879061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gehlien/pseuds/gehlien
Summary: Upon entering his favourite coffee shop, JJ notices an unfamiliar face behind the counter and the next second he's already smitten.Pushing his luck and throwing insecurities aside, he tries to make a new friend and gets so much more than he bargained for. Coffee Shop AU.





	The excess of cinnamon

After eating a high protein meal his mother had prepared for him, JJ glanced at the clock to decide that it was just the right time to visit his favourite coffee shop.

 He enjoyed this one in particular, because Yin-Yang was in front of the ice rink he frequented, and apart from friendly staff it had its own character. A fresh mix of oriental style, coming in form of various flowery patterns on red tinged walls and contemporary furniture seemed like enough to lure Jean-Jacques in. Not to mention that the quality of coffee itself left him speechless the first time he took a sip. It wasn’t surprising, as the owners, a happy couple in mid forties, put a lot of heart and effort into preparing the drinks. Observing their deep investment often made JJ wish he had as much dedication to skating as they had to enjoying the sole process of brewing coffee.

 When JJ entered the café that day, he felt a little off. Every time he had come to the shop, Miss Yang’s sweet chirping had greeted him warmly. It had an uplifting effect, because it made him feel like he belonged. Today, though, the woman was nowhere in sight. In her place, behind a polished counter, stood a girl so petite she couldn’t be possibly mistaken for the older lady, even though her dark hair also reached only shoulders.

  _A daughter, perhaps,_ Jean-Jacques thought, _or maybe an extra help._  He didn’t want to assume. It would be rude of him, and his parents always taught him kindness.

 He managed to beat his bewilderment and approached the desk. The girl was facing the wall. It seemed as though she was busy cutting some deliciously looking cake into even pieces. One look at her could tell she wasn’t used to working, because her moves screamed clumsiness and doubt. JJ tapped the tabletop twice in order to bring the attention to himself. The girl, obviously startled, turned around, and Jean-Jacques immediately regretted it when he saw how alarming and frightened her eyes looked at him.

 Well, on a side note, these were really beautiful eyes. Had to be, because the first thing that hit him was that they were really similar to his own. And JJ really liked his eyes. Light blue with a shadow of gray, taken after his father. But the girl’s eyes were even prettier, as a thin line of eyeliner sat on each of her lids, enhancing almond shape and unmistakably Asian features.

  _Definitely a daughter,_ JJ could say as much after a quick scrutiny.

 "Oh, I’m sorry for the wait,” she said surprisingly calmly, placing a knife on the counter behind her. “What can I get for you?”

 Her voice was soft and youthful, but also uncertain. It must have been her first day. Maybe something important came up and her parents had to leave the shop temporarily in her hands? Or maybe she came back home from abroad and decided to help the family business?

 JJ smiled in an attempt to put her at ease.

 “Vanilla Latte, please.”

 “Here or to take away?” she asked, while her hands began to make their way to the cash register, where they uncertainly tapped the order.

 “Here,” JJ said, handing her money he had fetched beforehand. “You may not know this, but I’m a regular here!” he added, flashing a content smile.

 “Then I’m looking forward to seeing you again. Starting today, I’m going to work here very often!” she said cheerfully.

 It seemed like such simple chats with customers weren’t that big of a deal for her. After all, it must’ve been somewhat required from an employee to uphold conversations and offer pleasantries at ease. Jean-Jacques felt happy to notice, that the girl wasn’t put off by his out-of-place confession, as a lot of people unfamiliar with his odd antics would certainly be. That was the reason he was a man of few friends. He struggled to have proper social interactions without making a fool out of himself. He couldn’t strike up a decent conversation; he’d eventually be labeled as awkward or considered ‘too much’.

 Having put the change into a pocket, JJ decided to push his luck one more time..

 “I hope that if I keep coming at this hour, I will be able to meet Miss Yang once or twice.”

 JJ would have added that Miss Yang was his friend if it hadn’t been considered inappropriate to call so an elder woman in front of her (most likely) daughter. Despite knowing what things he should avoid saying - things that would make others frown at him with confusion or disgust - he sometimes forgot them for no reason at all. He would get comfortable with his acquaintances to the point where he would blot out his knowledge of social boundaries.

 “She’ll be on her usual shift tomorrow. I guess I’ll be too.” A shy smile was still present. ”It’s my first day today. I was supposed to start as my- Miss Yang’s apprentice, as she calls it, but there was an emergency,” she explained, surprising JJ with the generous amount of honesty.

 Before JJ had managed to ask a follow-up question, the girl, probably having realised the cliffhanger she had ended her explanation with, added. “It’s nothing big, just urgent, so you don’t have to worry”.

 “That’s a relief! I really enjoy chatting with her. By the way, don’t think I missed your stutter! Are you Miss Yang’s daughter?” JJ asked. He couldn’t help himself, he wanted to know more about the mysterious girl behind the counter and confirming her relationship with the shop’s owner could be a great first step. “I demand an answer!” he added jokingly, then laughed sheepishly, suddenly aware of his lack of respect for privacy and nervous about a possible outcome. He had just asked a complete stranger an intimate question after all.  He hoped he would get a positive response, because it would be amazing to have another friendly face to talk to in his favourite shop. If their talk switched into a harsh, unpleasant one, JJ wouldn’t necessarily ‘know better next time’, but he would become cautious of the girl’s working hours and make sure not to come in during her shift.

 At first, the girl  answered him with a quiet, soft laughter. That made JJ realise she wore a red lipstick; he hadn’t recognised it before but seeing how much it suited her, he couldn’t blame himself.

 “Yes, I am. I’ve been told we’re like two peas in a pond.” She shrugged and, after looking upon Jean Jacques, she frowned, which almost gave him a heart attack. “You look panicky. It’s alright, people ask me that all the time. It stopped bothering me a while ago”.

  _She’s a literal angel,_ a thought crossed JJ’s mind. His smile was pure happiness over the relief the answer had caused. _Thank you, God._ His heart was beating faster than normal. JJ could feel the ever-present anxiety evaporate from his body. He let the overflowing excitement reach his toes and fingers; a delightful wave of heat crawled through his spine, making its way to his cheekbones, where it rested in form of a barely visible tint of red.

 “I’m glad! I tend to overstep my boundaries very often, you see, that’s why I was feeling insecure.”

 “Oh? Well, you see, it takes much more than that to insult me. My skin has recently turned from porcelain to ivory, good luck drilling through that.” It didn’t take JJ a lot of time to realise the girl was being playful with him. It made his heart flutter, but at the same time he felt bad for not even knowing her name.

 “Not steel?”

 “Not yet”

 “Hey! Was that a _Game of thrones_ reference!?” JJ asked a bit too loud for a few customers’ liking, but he didn’t particularly mind. as thrill took over him.

 “Yes. A crappy one. I should’ve referred to the series instead of the books.” She offered him an apprehensive smile. “I’m glad you got it, though. If you hadn’t, then you would probably think that I’m weird or something.”

 “Or something.” He tilted his lips into an upward curve, wary of the way the girl’s cheerful tone turned into a hesitant one.  “That should be my line”.

 “You haven’t done anything embarrassing. Yet,” she said, showing off white teeth in the most attractive grin Jean-Jacques had ever seen.

 “How thoughtful of you,” he replied with a similar expression. “You know, when I came in and saw you, I knew that something was out of order. I’ve just realised what.”

  _Play it well, moron,_ he scolded himself, _if others can do it, so do you. Get a grip._

When he saw how alert and unsure the girl was looking at him, he realised he had been silent for a second too long.

 “Your name tag. Or rather the lack of it. How am I supposed to address you properly if I don’t know your name?”

  _Smooth,_ he thought. If he could, he would pat his brain as a reward for the amazing job it had just done.

 “It’s Isabella. And the name tag you’re so concerned about will be there soon.” She pointed to the place above her chest where it was supposed to be.

 “That’s great,” he exhaled the air he was unaware of having kept.

 The silence that followed didn’t bother him much; he kept sneaking glances at Isabella, who looked at him as if she was waiting for something to happen. With each second she was growing more fidgety and unsure, but JJ didn’t take a hint. Finally, she spoke. “I guess I should get to prepare your order. Please, have a seat.”

 JJ wished there was at least one stool directly facing the counter. There were some in the other cafés he stumbled upon, but in these cases it was required, as most of them sold alcohol beverages at night. Having a tall chair so close to Isabella would enable him to watch her more closely and eventually strike up another chat.

 He didn’t want to startle her by any chance, he was happy with how their brief talk escalated. He was almost certain that, with every next time they met, they would become more and more familiar with each other. Not wanting to make matters awkward, he obeyed Isabella’s order.

 A two person  table across the counter didn’t turn his greed into contentment, but it was better than if he had sat in the back row.

 When he seated himself comfortably, he reached into a pocket and pulled out a phone. Ignoring notifications about new followers on various social media accounts, he checked the time and realised that his talk with Isabella took no more than five minutes. If JJ were to comment on it in any way, he’d say he had been cheated by time itself. He didn’t want to get into an argument with himself about philosophical stuff, which, by the way, he found compelling and engaging, so he decided to take a break from his thoughts. And the best way to do that was to observe a newly met girl.

 She was preparing JJ’s order as she had said she would. Yet her expression was a complete opposite of the usual ones worn by workers dealing with whiny customers on a daily basis. Instead of an ever-present exhaustion and frown representing the lack of commitment to this unrewarding job she wore the gentlest smile, which JJ was more than ecstatic to notice. The moment she turned to peek at him through black strands, he noted another detail. Their fleeting glances connected for a glimpse of a second, but it was enough for JJ to recognise the dreamy look in her exceptionally pretty eyes. He had seen girls swooning over him since he had started his competitive career, but most of them followed him due to his appearance, not knowing him personally. Isabella wasn’t pretentious and stalkerish in her actions, as many JJ Girls did. It was a factor that helped Jean-Jacques set a goal - he was going to pursue her.

  _She’s clearly interested...Or maybe I’m reading too deep into it? Why would she even think I’m charming? I’m an awkward doofus,_ he thought, now feeling guilty he might have mistaken Isabella’s curiosity for attraction. _I’ve always been weak to affection. I shouldn’t be surprised._

 What surprised him, though, was Isabella appearing in front of him with an elegant china cup full of his favourite drink. She smiled softly and placed it on the table.

 “Here you are. Please enjoy your coffee,” she said and disappeared behind the counter, a little distressed, as there was already another customer waiting for her to take their order.

 JJ didn’t want to act like a creep, scrutinizing Isabella as if she was an extraordinary object, while waiting for his coffee to cool down, so he threw himself into his little kingdom on the other side of the phone screen. He hated waiting, knowing he could make a better use of his time, but his love for coffee was too big to give up on it. He went through some new photos of his fellow rink mates, often pressing the “like” button. He was afraid of leaving a comment, even a one consisting of happy emoticons only, because he could picture the receivers’ reactions, sickened looks and whispers saying _“oh no, it’s JJ and his obnoxious attempts to be friends with me again”_. How a coward like him could have spoken with a girl like Isabella so smoothly before, he didn’t know, because it made no sense even to him. How come Isabella didn’t mind his hot-headed and overly enthusiastic nature while other skaters disapproved of it and were eager to voice their disfavor?

 He looked at Isabella, who was once again busy brewing fresh coffee, and he felt his heart melt. He had already sensed an unusual bond with her, however naïve it sounded. He was a naïve man in general, so if his presumptions were false, he had only himself to blame.

 Looking back at his day, he was fairly content. He managed to skate a clean programme, which was very unusual of him recently. He met a likable girl and succeeded in having a decent conversation. He was only three thousands people away from reaching 250k followers on twitter. Yes, his day was great.

 Until it wasn’t.

 The coffee he received turned out to be a complete opposite of his order. He sensed a strong presence of ginger, in other words - the spice he detested. The unexpected excess of cinnamon scratched his throat so suddenly, that he began to cough. When the itching stopped, he realised every pair of eyes in the room was on him, including Isabella’s. _I’ve probably made a scene,_ he thought, feeling a familiar tightness in his chest.

 His wide open eyes searched for Isabella. One look at her concerned and frightened expression made him regret this action wholeheartedly. Had he just made a fool out of himself once again? Could nothing in his life go the way he wanted?

 Isabella appeared next to him in a span of seconds and reached to pat his back, but stopped mid-air.

 “Is everything alright?” she asked quietly and placed a hand on his shoulder.

 “Yes.” He nodded, aware of other people’s constant stares. The feeling was overwhelming. It made him wonder how he could perform in front of a huge audience, but couldn’t bear a single look from a stranger who probably had never heard of him. Maybe because his fans followed his moves with adoration, and these people just blatantly stared at his failures in order to mock him? Or maybe he was thinking too much, which was often the main source of his problems.

 “You had me worried for a while.”  Isabella took a shaky breath.

  _If someone looked like they were about to choke to death during my shift, I would freak out too,_ he thought.

 “Are you enjoying your drink? I’ve made sure it’s properly flavoured.” She smiled tenderly. “Maybe you would like a piece of apple pie, too?”

 JJ felt like he was about to scold a puppy. Isabella seemed unconscious of the mistake she had made when she misheard his order, but JJ knew he owed her honesty.

 “I don’t want to sound rude, but I think there was a misunderstanding. I’ve ordered Vanilla Latte,”  he started, trying not to look Isabella in the eye.

 The hand on his arm disappeared, and when JJ looked up he noticed it served as a cover for Isabella’s mouth.

 “Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I can bring you a new one… And I’ll add some cake! It will be on the house!” She was clearly ready to turn her words into reality, but JJ gently grabbed her hand the moment she took a step.

 Isabella stopped dead in her track and glanced at him sadly. JJ immediately felt guilty for crushing her efforts to serve him the best coffee he’d ever had. She was just an amateur in a job she probably wasn’t prepared to get, yet she tried so hard for _him._

 And JJ was a complete opposite of heartless.

 “No, there’s no need to! It was probably my fault! I must’ve said the wrong coffee name, so please don’t be bothered!” he said in a wave of panic. _Well, there goes my intention to be honest,_ a thought crossed his mind. He could feel how a receipt saying “Vanilla Latte” burned his thigh through the inner fabric of the pocket.

 He flashed her the most generous smile to make his act more genuine and show how nonchalant he was about this whole situation.

 Isabella scrutinized him from head to toe, but stood by her decision, probably reading him like an open book.

 “It’s my responsibility to provide you with services of the highest possible quality and my mistake was unforgivable. In this business, at least.” It was Isabella’s turn to present him a lopsided smile. “Please let me redeem myself. The honor of this café is on my shoulders! My parents will kill me if they find out I’ve lost their favourite regular!”

 JJ had been sitting speechless for a moment before he realised that Isabella wasn’t upset anymore; she seemed to be joking, which brought him a huge relief. He tried to come up with a smooth response, just like he did earlier, but his unfiltered mouth beat his brain to it.

 “Then instead of making me another cup of undoubtedly delicious coffee, I suggest letting me take you to dinner tomorrow.”

 That seemed to catch Isabella off guard. “Uh…” She looked right and left to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

 “A coffee will do too, if you’d like.” He smiled. “I hope you won’t be offended if I choose a place other than this, because I wouldn’t want to fall out of your mother’s favour. In case, you know, she sees us here and doesn’t like the idea of us meeting after your shift.” He scratched his neck. _God, I’m so stupid, she’s clearly not interested,_ he thought, already on a verge of storming out of the café with no intention of showing his face to Isabella ever again.

 He found out how full of surprises Isabella was when she proved his thoughts wrong by sitting in a chair in front of him. “I’ll say yes, but first you have to do something else.”

 “Anything”.

 “Tell me your name. It’s only fair because you already know mine,” she remarked, gently tapping the table with pink nails. “I was waiting for you to tell me before, but you didn’t. I’ll let it slip, but only this once.” She flashed an impish grin.

 “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you… Oh my God…” JJ hid his eyes behind his hands. He was embarrassed, but this act itself served as a comic relief, rather than a genuine reaction.

 “It’s okay! I was trying to come up with an idea to find it out somehow, and now you gave me a perfect chance,” she confessed with no shame or awkwardness.

 JJ placed his hands on his lap again and smiled. It was a very nice feeling, knowing that someone cared about him enough to plot innocent schemes in order to uncover something as trivial as his name.

 “It’s Jean-Jacques. But you can call me JJ. Many people only use JJ, because it’s shorter and easier to pronounce,” he explained. “And I don’t mind it at all”.

 “Now we’re even.”

 Isabella stood up upon hearing a gentle clang signaling the arrival of another customer.

 “I’ll see you in about thirty minutes, I guess. I hope it’s fine with you…” she said, unsure if JJ would wait for her to finish her shift or meet her already in a place they’d agree on meeting in.

 “Take your time. I wouldn’t like you to flop your first day of work because of me,” JJ stated, but behind his calm façade there was an over enthusiastic kid, impatiently waiting for his chocolate dessert to arrive.

  _It’s going to be a long wait,_ he thought, following Isabella to the counter with his gaze and remarking on how gracefully she moved.

  


 

 

Later he found out, that Isabella knew exactly who he was, thanks to her parents, who couldn’t stop talking about this young, polite man that frequented their coffee shop and always complimented their homemade treats. She didn’t know his name though. And that he was an acclaimed, worldwide known figure skater.

 “You can come to the practice tomorrow! I will introduce you to my parents, because they’re both my coaches,” he said offhandedly.

 And then he had to repeatedly ask Isabella whether she was okay, because she looked like she was on the verge of fainting.

 “It’s too fast,” she finally said, and JJ couldn’t understand what the problem was.

 Eventually she agreed.

 And a year later, with the approval of everyone, she also said ‘yes’ to JJ’s proposal.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hello! It's the first fanfic I post on ao3 and the first I've written in English (which is not my native language). I'm sorry about misused articles and punctuation errors (I hope there aren't too many :( I don't have a beta, so it's unavoidable, I guess). Enjoy!


End file.
